Students Rate St. Edward's Highly

In the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), St. Edward's University exceeded the national average on all five benchmarks, including academic challenge, collaborative learning, student-faculty interactions, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus environment.

Record Number of International Students Welcomed to St. Edward's University

This fall, St. Edward’s University will mark an institutional record of 101 new international students on campus — new freshmen, undergraduate, graduate, exchange, transfer and returning — which is a 55% increase compared to last year.

Jezreel Asare, a sophomore studying political science, is among the university’s growing number of international students. Originally from Hamburg, Germany, Jezreel attended Notre Dame High School in West Haven, Conn., a Congregation of Holy Cross high school, where he learned about St. Edward’s. He enrolled at St. Edward’s as a freshman and plans to graduate in four years.

“Coming to St. Edward’s as an international student did not make me feel out of place at all,” Jezreel said. “I’m able to do all the things American students do — participate in sports, work on campus and be involved in everyday on-campus events.”

Jezreel is involved in the campus community. He’s a resident assistant for the St. Edward’s Apartments and a teaching assistant for a German class.

“I'm fluent in four languages; or more like three-and-a-half,” Jezreel said. In addition to English and German, Jezreel also speaks Twi and French — the two most commonly spoken languages in Ghana, his parents’ home country.

“As an international student, people are always eager to get to know me and spend time with me whenever they can,” Jezreel said. “Not only do I help create a diverse campus, but I also contribute a new understanding of other cultures, customs and traditions.”

St. Edward’s gives Jezreel the opportunity to explore a whole new culture within the United States. “As international students, we tend to think that all we do is increase the international ratio, or stay in order to just study, but we really give American students a broader global perspective,” he said.

“International students should seek to find a school that has a deep understanding and appreciation for the global community,” Asare said. “St. Edward’s provides you with that understanding.”

Jezreel, along with fellow international students Santiago Quintero, Luiz Trillo and Marcela Beas at St. Edward’s, are featured in a video produced by IDP International, a company that assists students in finding the right overseas study options.